What to do with K'kadi Amund, the youngest of four royal children-the one who doesn't talk? The young man of almost twenty-one who can still lose himself in moments of beauty, or moments of disaster. "Unreliable" and "weird" are some of the kinder things said about him. So why does S'sorrokan, leader of the rebellion against the Regulon Empire, consider him one of his most vital assets? And even when K'kadi comes into his own and gets what was once his greatest desire, he discovers that growing up comes with a price.

Author's Note: Readers of the Blue Moon Rising series will encounter old friends in Tal Rigel and his wife Kass and the Sorcerer Prime, Jagan Mondragon, and his wife M'lani. As well as B'aela Flammia, the eldest child of King Ryal of Psyclid. (The four royals, with their significant others, will stand shoulder to shoulder in the final book, ROYAL REBELLION.) Other major characters who reappear in THE BASTARD PRINCE are: Regulon Admiral Rand Kamal, Captain Alek Rybolt, Captain Jordana Tegge. New on scene are a family of merchant rebels, one of whom (female) throws a monkey wrench into K'kadi's plans for a conventional happily ever after. (A list of the many and varied characters on three planets and a terraformed moon is included at the beginning of the book.)

Creatures:flitterfly - similar to butterflygrizzoid - large aggressive beastkito - bug similar to mosquitokrall - highly venomous snakeoryx - large bird similar to a condorpanta - cross between a panther & a catplatidon - large, awkward creature